Cloud's Story
by darkendLuminescence
Summary: Cloud is a young cat living with a group of loners that found her when she was a kit. She is tormented relentlessly by one of the older cats. Suddenly, it becomes bearable when she meets a forbidden love. This story is on a temporary hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One Memories

The first thing I remember is being carried by someone who I must believe was my mother. We were outside and it was raining. "It is not very long now, my precious one." She whispered to me. "We will be safe soon." Then disaster reared its ugly head. A bolt of light came down from the sky and struck the she-cat in the chest, miraculously missing me. She dropped me from her jaws. I just sat there on the ground, lost and alone for the first time in my short life. Then, I got up and began to walk.

All too soon, it was night. I knew I had to stop but I didn't know where to go. Then, I felt teeth meet my scruff. "Come on, I'll keep you safe." I still squirmed. "Your mother never came. I thought it would be a good idea to look around. Guess I was right."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Torment

Before we go any farther, I should probably tell you more about myself. I am a pale gray cat with gray-green eyes. My mother couldn't take care of me anymore, so she was bringing me to Hazel, who was one of her best friends. Hazel says my personality is like honeyed thorns. I suppose she is right. I can be a bit prickly at times. My sisters are always telling me so. They treat me like an outcast. Briar was the worst. "Your not one of us." She said very often. They never let me play with them, or share prey, or anything sisters do together. I loathed her.

One day she went too far. "Why don't you go back to your foxheart of a mother?" Briar was tormenting me again. "Oh, wait, you can't! She's dead!" Most of the time I weathered through it. This time, though, I fought back. "Who gave you the right to insult my mother?" I responded. "Shes dead and now your dishonoring her memory." Briar looked stunned. "How did she die?" Bracken asked. I listened for a sneer in her voice, but there was none. Just curiosity." She was struck by lightning." I proceeded to tell the whole story. But only to Bracken.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Revenge and Blackmail

After my confrontation with Briar, she left me alone for the most part. But I still wanted revenge. I decided that the best time would be the Prey Share. At the Prey Share, all the loner cats would gather to share prey every three moons. It was common knowledge that Briar had her eye on a handsome tom named Branch. I decided to try and ruin their relationship. But the thing that made this revenge so sweet was that everything I would tell him would be true. At the Prey Share, I managed to get to him before Briar. I told him of all the times she had tormented me, insulted me, and shunned me. After that, it took him moons to trust her again. Apparently, Briar had told him she despised cats like that.

About 5 moons after the incident, I saw Briar with Branch. They were sitting by the river, their tails twined together. I was shocked. Not only that my plan hadn't worked, but also that she was disobeying Hazel's rule: Only the first-born could have kits. I knew that they would become mates. I ran home to tell Hazel. Briar saw me and pleaded for my silence. It felt nice to have her begging for mercy instead. I told her I would think about it. I decided to bide my time and spill the mouse bile. My revenge still wasn't over yet.

I knew that I couldn't hold out forever. I would have to tell Hazel eventually. But until then, I reveled in Briar's misery. She knew that I had the power. I let her live in fear. She knew I could make her do anything, and she couldn't do anything about it.

Meanwhile, Bracken and I had grown apart, what with all my scheming. I met up with her at sun-high. "You've changed." She told me. "You seem like a different cat." I had no idea what she meant. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Well, you seem more confident now, like you don't need anyone." I wondered what she was getting at. "Are you saying…? No! I still need you!" I realized she was saying goodbye. "I'm sorry, but I have a mate now." I started to get angry. "Just because you have a mate doesn't give you an excuse to abandon me!" I cried. But she was already gone. _Maybe she's right, _I thought, _I don't need anyone now._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 5 Love and Tragedy

It was around that time when I fell in love. The cat's name was Cactus. He wasn't the strongest, the biggest, or the quickest. He was the smartest. He was a schemer, like me. We first met as enemies. Or, I should say, our families met as enemies. I can't even remember what our families were squabbling about. Probably prey or something.

But I know he planned their strategy, because I planned ours. We outmaneuvered them, but we came very close to defeat. Two of them had cornered Berry, my blood brother. I almost streaked over to defend him, but I knew this would mess up our strategy. So I had to torture myself, and just watch. I will not say what happened to Berry. I will only say that he sent their furry hindquarters scurrying. Cactus snuck over to me. " Meet me at the broken oak at moonhigh." I was startled, not knowing what to say. He waited for me to answer. I decided to help him get out of our territory by any means possible. But then he was gone.

I decided to meet him at the broken oak. Something about him made him irresistible. I didn't know at the time, but it was love. The night we were to meet, I was waiting. I had gotten there early. As I waited, I thought about my decision. I wondered if this was the wisest choice. Probably not, but I wanted to meet him. Finally, he came. We talked. We had both seen that the other hadn't fought if they didn't need to. Neither of us admitted our true feelings. Until Cactus spoke up. "Cloud, the reason I wanted you to come here is so I can admit something: I love you." This statement surprised me. I'd always had more enemies than friends. Now, there was the possibility of a mate.

I was sneaking back into our den, when I saw Briar come in holding a bundle. She looked around for anyone watching but didn't see me. She quickly made her way to Hazel's nest. Hazel woke as Briar placed the bundle by her belly. She questioned Briar, but I was to far away to hear anything. I assumed that she'd found the kit in the woods. But, as hard as I tried, I couldn't convince myself. I asked Hazel about the kit. "Her name is Tiny. I will raise her as my own."

Reluctantly, I admitted to myself that I would have to ask Briar about the kit. "I found her in the woods." She said, looking at her paws. I didn't believe her. She was obviously lying. And I thought I knew the truth.

Meanwhile, I kept meeting Cactus at the oak. We looked at the stars and dreamed of a future together. No, I'm not kidding, that's what we did.

He knew Hazel's rule, but he didn't care. Then, the fire destroyed us. We were sitting by the oak tree when flames ripped through the forest. We ran, but then a falling tree separated us. "Cactus!" The scream tore itself out of my body, like a creature, clawing its way out of my throat.

I couldn't see him through the smoke and haze. I ran towards home, my eyes streaming because of soot and tears. I woke everyone up, made some excuse about night hunting, and ran for the stream. But, there was something no one could know, no one except him. But now, it was most likely that Cactus was gone, and that he was never coming back.

After the fire, I started to search for Cactus obsessively. Each day, I became more desperate. Meanwhile, Tiny was growing. She wasn't so tiny anymore. I think that, because I was the most reserved, I seemed to be the most powerful. How strange that when I was so weak, I looked so strong.

Tiny was always inquiring to what I was doing. The first few times I thought Briar had sent her. Then I realized I was getting quite paranoid and that she was genuinely curious. I told her I was searching for a cat lost in the fire. She asked whether she could search with me. I told her what Cactus looked like and sent her off. About an hour later, she was back. She told me that she hadn't seen anyone with the same description. I expected as much


End file.
